Nick Mingione named SEC Coach of the Year, several players collect honors

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Kentucky Baseball has collected six end of the season honors from the SEC right before the conference tournament begins.

Head Coach Nick Mingione is the SEC Coach of the Year for the second time in eight years. The award is decided by a vote of the other conference’s coaches.

Head Coach Nick Mingione
Credit- UK Athletics

The Wildcats’ skipper lead the team to a 22 win season in conference play, which is just one of many school records this season. UK finished the regular season as Co-SEC Champions with Tennessee.

Nick Lopez, a graduate transfer, was named to the All-SEC First Team and junior Ryan Waldschmidt earned All-SEC Second Team honors.

Ryan Waldschmidt.
Credit- UK Athletics

The team had a solid designated hitter in Lopez who scored 52 runs and six home runs. Waldschmidt finished with 59 runs and 11 homers, but has another interesting statistic. His 23 stolen bases are the most in a season for a player in the Mingione era.

Nick Lopez
Credit- UK Athletics

Three other players,  Mitchell Daly, Mason Moore and Emilien Pitre, made the All-SEC Defensive Team.

Kentucky finished the season at 39-12 with a 22-8 record in conference play. The Wildcats, who have earned the third seed in the SEC Tournament, will begin play in Hoover, Alabama on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. eastern time versus either LSU or Georgia.